Safety collecting- box



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. 0. NIELSEN.

SAFETY COLLECTING BOX. No. 338,354. Patented Mar. 23, 1886.

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No. 338,354. Patent'edgMar. 23, 1886.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

O. NIELSEN.

SAFETY COLLECTING BOX;

No. 338,354. Patented Mar. 23, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

OTTO NIELSEN, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW J SAFETY COLLECTlN G-BOX.

QFECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 338,354, dated March 23, 1886,

Application filed December 12, 1885. Serial No. 185,436. (No model.)

1'0 all whom it ntay concern.-

Be it known that l, OTTO NIELsnN, of Antwerp, Belgium, but temporarily residing at Jersey City, Hudson county, State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Safety Collecting-Box, of which the following specification is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a safety collectingbox for receiving letters, money, and other matter. The box is constructed with a view of preventing the abstraction of the contents from such box and from the receptacle into which they are subsequently placed for conveyance to the post-office or other headquarters. To this effect the box is provided with a pivoted bottom, beneath which the collecting-receptacle-snch as a mail bag1nay be locked. The neck of the mail-bag has a pivoted cover, which, when the bag is in posi tion under the box, is likewise locked. The carrier, by the turning of a lever, locks the box to the bag and simultaneously unlocks the pivoted bottom of the box and the pivoted cover of the bag. By a further motion of the lever. these parts are swung aside, so that the contents of the box may drop into the bag. A reverse motion of the lever closes both receptacles, locks the cover and bottom, and finally permits the withdrawal of the bag from the box. Thus the contents of the box are transferred to the bag without affording an opportunity to the carrier for handling such contents.

The invention consists in the various elements of improvement hereinafter more fully pointed out.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of the box, which I shall term the depository, on line w m, Fig. 7. Fig. 2 is a similar section of the lower box or neck of a mail-bag, which I shall term the receiver, on line 2 2, Fig. 9. Fig. 3 is a similar section of the depository and receiver interlocked. Fig. 4. is a back view of the receiver; Fig. 5, a back view of the operating-lever; Fig. 6, a longitudinal central section of the depository,partly in side view; Fig. 7, abottom view of the depository; Fig. 8, a longitudinal central section of the receiver, and Fig 9 a top view of the same.

The letter A represents a stationary box or any other receptacle provided with a slit, a,

Fig. 6, for the reception ofletters, money, or other articles. This box has two rails,b,at its bottom, for the reception of aflange, 0, upon the receiver B. This receiveris a box or case having an open bottom, and is rigidly secured within the mouth of a mail-bag or other portable receptacle, Fig. 8, so as to close the same.

The depository A has a pivoted bottom, d, placed between two disks,e e,having large central perforations, Fig. 6. The bottom d is free to be vibrated sidewise, and when open per mits the contents of depository A to drop out of the same.

The receiver B has a pivoted cover,f, also free to vibrate sidewise and placed beneath a perforated top plate, g.

\Vithin receiver B there is pivoted a springcatch or similar locking device having two arms, h 'i, of which thearm his normally raised and projects into a slit of the coverf, so as to lock the'same while the arm 1' is normally depressed. WVhen raised,(by means hereinafter specified,) the arm i enters depository A and pushes up a catch,j, which is held down by a spring and locks the bottom d, Fig. 3.

Vithin the receiver B there is placed a suitable register, k, (shown to consist of a ratchetwhecl and spring-pawh) and connected to the cover fin such a manner as to automatically register every opening of coverf. A similar register may be connected to bottom d. The cover f is pivoted to top plate, 9, by means of a lug, 1, attached to the cover and entering a perforation of the top plate. This lug has an angular socket for the reception of a bolt or rod, hereinafter described, and adapted to turn the cover.

I shall now describe the mechanism within depository A which operates the catch h t, and which vibrates the parts (I f.

m is a lever pivoted within box A and projecting with its free end out of the same, or, at any rate, of such a length as to be accessible through a narrow slot in such box. This lever is provided at its rear side with a curved groove, a, Fig. 5, adapted to receive a pin, 0, attached to a working beam or bar, 1), which is free to move up and down. To this beam there are attached two upright bars, q 1',

squared at their lower ends and free to pass out through openings within the bottom of the box. The bar q enters an angular opening in bottom d, while the bar 1' clears said bottom, as shown in Fig. 1. The bar r may be provided with a suitable spring-cushion, Fig. 3, so that its downward motion is not too abrupt. The rod (1 is provided at its top with a worm, 8, having a spiral groove for the reception ofa pin, t, attached to the lever m.

u u are stationary guide-rails passing through perforations in beam 1), and designed to guide the motion of such beam. Above lever on there is pivoted a pawl, o,which bears, when down, upon the upper side of beam 1), and which is engaged by a nose, c, on lever m when the latter is swung upward.

The operation of the parts is as follows: The receiver B is, with its flange c, slid over the rails b of depository A, so that the'receiver is thus suspended beneath the depositor When the lever m is in its upward position, as shown in Fig. 1, the pin 0 on beam 1) is situated on one side of thegroove nin theback of said lever, so that the under side of this lever m, when pressed downward, will bear upon said pin 0. The operator (having access to the level-m) swings such lever partially down. This action will cause the pin 0 to be pushed downward, and thus the beam is moved down, which will cause both bars q r to descend. When the beam 1), with the rods (1 and 1', has thus been moved the required distance downward, the pin 0 will be in line with the curved groove in on the back of the lever m, and pass, during the further movement of the le ver at, through said curved groove a. The bar (1 passes through the hole in bottom d and into the socket of the lug Z, attached to cover f. The rod r passes through openings in disks 6, Fig. l, and through an opening in top 9, to bear upon catch it 2'. (See Fig. 3.) As thus far described, the rods serve to interlock the parts A B. As the bar 7* bears upon I catch h i, it vibrates such catch, swinging arm it down and arm t' up. This will unlock both the coverfand the bottom (I. A further downward motion of lever on willbring the pin 15 into worm s, and cause the partial rotation of such worm and the consequent partial rotation of bar g, which will thus open the bottom (Z and coverf by swinging them sidewise upon their pivots. The contents of depository A will now drop into the receiver B, preferably through a tapering case, 10, within depository A, Fig. 6. In this position the pawl 1; will be down, Fig. 3, and hold the beamp down as against the first upward motion of lever at, now to be described. The lever m is now swung partly upward to revolve rod 9 in opposite direction by worm s, and consequently during which turn pass freely through close bottom (I and cover f, the pin 0 on beam 10 will the groove a in said lever in at the same time the nose '0 on said lever will come in contact with the pawl 11, so that such pawl is swung up and liberates the beam 10. A projection, 12, on the lower side of the lever in comes thus in contact with the beamp and lifts the same upward into its normal position, and the bars (1 and 1' will be drawn up again. Thus the spring-catch h *5 will again lock the bottom d and the coverfin place, and at the same time the receiver B will be'separated from box A, so as to be free to be withdrawn therefrom. The contents of the box A will in this way be transferred to the receiver 13 without giving the operator a chance to meddle therewith.

I prefer to corrugate the upper face of bottom (Z, to prevent the letters from being moved sidewise with such bottom.

y is a square bearing, which receives the squared end of bar q when the latter is drawn up, and prevents any possibility of revolving bottom d withoutthe rod being first lowered.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of box A, having pivoted bottom (Z, with box 13, having pivoted coverf, and with bars q r, the bar 1' receiving vertical motion to lock said cover, and the bar q receiving vertical and rotating motion to oscillate said cover, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of box A, having pivoted bottom (2, and bars q r, operated by beam 19 and lever m, with the box B, having cover f, adapted to be engaged by said bars, substantially as specified. 3. The combination of box A, having pivoted bottom d, with bars q 1', having squared ends and attached to beam 19, having pin 0, and with lever m, having curved groove 1%, for the reception of such pin, the squared ends of bars q r being adapted to engage coverf of box B, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of box A, having pivoted bottom (Z, with bars q r, worm 8, attached to bar q, beam 10, connecting the bars, lever m, for operating the beam, and, with pawl '0, pivoted above the beam, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of box A, having vertically-movable rod 1' and vertically-movable and horizontally-revolving bar q, with the receiver B, having pivoted coverf, lug Z, and catch it i, substantially as specified.

(3. The combination of a depository having a pivoted bottom, with a receiver having a pivoted cover and a catch, and with a vertically-movable, and a vertically-movable and horizontally-revolving, rod within the depository to operate the catch and oscillate the bottom and cover, substantially as specified.

OTTO NIELSEN.

Witnesses:

F. v. BRIESEN, R. H. Box. 

